Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Exodus 34:10-14

So El Kanna means The Jealous God. And here we have this passage in the Old Testament where God is establishing or making clear to the Israelites that He has a covenant relationship with them.

And it often seems weird to talk about God as being jealous but in this instance where there is a covenant or an agreement, jealousy is actually correct. It’s actually the righteous response.

God says that He has a deal with these people. And his bargain is that He’s going to show wonders and miracles to them and to the people around them and show how awesome He is. So this is His side of he bargain. This is His side of His devotion to them as His people.

But God’s people have their side of the bargain as well. And that’s obedience and devotion to one God and one God alone. God is going to show wonders to the nations around but it also said that God is going to flatten those people who are against God and against His people.

So it actually makes no sense for us to strike up any deals with them. It’s a ‘No Deal’ kind of situation.

Make no treaty – God says. Or to use another Old Testament phrase – SHOW NO MERCY

God doesn’t need us to get into the way of what He’s doing. God will do His work without us. And it’s counterproductive actually for us to try and get in the way. I know I’ve had times in my life when I’ve gotten in God’s way, which kind of sounds like it’s impossible to do. Yes, He will overrule. But there are times when I’ve tried to step in and have stepped in and it’s actually been the wrong thing to do.

So instead of being counterproductive we need to let God go to work.

So there’s a well known phrase: that says, ‘let go and let God’. it might be a bit like that. But I think it’s also sometimes ‘get out and get God’ because He’s going to do the wonder, not us. We need to back out of the way. Make no treaty. Show no mercy.

So God doesn’t need us to make deals with people who are going against Him. But I’ve found this can be really difficult to do, particularly when you’re extremely exhausted.

And particularly at those times, it’s a lot easier to be like the meandering stream that just follows the easiest course: the path of least resistance and to just go along with the grain. When you’re exhausted you hardly feel like you can make it through the next day, let alone make it through the next day and put up some sort of unyielding boundary and ‘make no treaty’.

However, God will help us do that.

I’ve found the prayer “do not let my foot slip” which is a biblical phrase, a good one. I find that quite helpful to say to God I’m going to need your help as I metaphorically walk this path with sole devotion to you. Please do not let my foot slip. Please help me to keep walking in a way that is devoted to you. Because the reality is that if we devote ourselves to God and make decisions that go against the grain, that’s going to irritate just a couple of people, at least.

There will be resistance. There will be pushback. And particularly if we’re exhausted it’s going to be hard to pushback ourselves and keep walking God’s way. But the prayer “Do not let my foot slip. Give me the energy I need to endure in this way. It’s always good to pray and God will always help us by His Holy Spirit.

So El Kanna, “The Jealous God” and rightly so, I might add. God has a covenant relationship with His people. And as one of His people, God has a covenant relationship with me. He expects my devotion and I am willing to give it. Despite the difficulty sometimes, I know that God will help me do that.

Because we have a covenant. We have a covenant of love and we know tht it is held together in the blood of Christ. The Blood of the Covenant. So it’s not a duty to adhere to the covenant. It’s a covenant in which I know God loves me and I love Him in return.

And so, because there is a covenant in the blood as well, there is nothing that can break apart that fellowship.

Because if two parties are bound together in the blood of the covenant, they are held together firmly and nothing can break them. So we ‘Show no mercy’ and we ‘Make No treaty’ with any others

We stick with our God. He is jealous for us and we are jealous for Him.